The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to antenna systems used in wireless communications.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to acquire, process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system (‘IHS’) generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Presently, use of wireless local area networks (LAN's) has experienced rapid growth since wireless technology when used with portable IHS devices combine information accessibility with user mobility. Many of these IHS's, especially the portable ones such as notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDA's), cellular phones and gaming/entertainment devices, typically use various wireless peripheral devices such as radios and wireless network interface cards (NIC's) to communicate between themselves and/or with other wired or wireless networks, including intranets and the Internet. Wireless communication technologies continue to evolve and mature. Currently available wireless communication technologies include: wireless personal area networks (WPAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and wireless wide area networks (WWAN).
Multiple technological standards may be adopted for use in wireless communication networks. For example, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and Infrared Data Association (IrDA) are widely accepted standards for wireless communications. Regardless of the standard used, wireless devices typically operate in certain predefined frequency spectrum.
Each radio device within a wireless communication system typically includes one or more antenna's to receive and/or transmit signals. The particular types of antennas or antenna systems deployed within an IHS are customized for each wireless application and are generally dependent on factors such as the communication standard, frequency range, data throughput, distance, power level, minimum quality of service (QOS) criteria and similar others.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a layout arrangement for multiple antennas within a portable computer system, according to prior art. Generally, all antennas are optimised to work inside a periphery of the plastic enclosure of the portable computer system. The selected location for the multiple antennas may affect antenna performance. For example, antennas mounted on the top of the liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit may deliver better performance compared to antennas mounted on either side of or at the base of the LCD display unit. Since portable computers typically deploy separate antennas for each wireless function, adding new antennas to an already densely packaged and overcrowded space within the portable computer may be difficult. The rapid adoption of newer wireless communication standards such as WWAN, WLAN, and Bluetooth, may accelerate the overcrowding problem within the portable computer system. In addition, an improper positioning of the antenna(s) may limit the performance of the wireless devices. In some cases, multiple antennas may be shared by wireless devices through the use of a radio frequency (RF) switch (not shown). However, this technique generally does not permit simultaneous operation of all wireless devices and may result in increased cost due to the addition of the RF switch.
Therefore, a need exists to provide an improved method and system for accommodating a plurality of antennas within an IHS. Additionally, a need exists to house the plurality of antennas preferably without utilizing additional space within the IHS and preferably without a substantial increase in the cost of the product. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved antenna structure coupled to a radio device of an information handling system absent the disadvantages found in the prior methods discussed above.